The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-07-16
A STRICKEN CITY.


Worth OF Property Destroyed.
ASHLAND, Wis, July 1l.--For the fourth
time in its brief history the mining town
OF Hurley, on the Gogebc range has been
visited with terrible fire, this time to
the almost total destruction Of the town,
and the loss of nearly if not quite score
of lives, while less than two weeks ago
June 26), two blocks in the business CEN
ter were burned to the ground in as many
hours at a cost of 100000 The tract de-
vastate1 Saturday was swarming with
workmen, and in a short time would havs
been rebuilt on much larger scale thaa
before. -
The workmen laid down their tools at
six O'clock and drew their weeks wages,
which two hours later many Of them
were spending in the saloons down town.
Between eight and nine o'clock the
Alcazar Theater lager-beer hall and va
riety show on Main street was swarming
with these and other patrons, gamblers
and attaches OF the place.
One of the latter, waiter girl and va
riety-actress, went to the top loft Of the
building with an oil lamp. The lamp she
is presumed to have dropped, for almost
instantly after her disappearance from
the lower floor, fame of fire shot sky
ward from the roof of the building, and
a second later The structure was ablaze
from cellar up. A large building, but
like every thing else in Hurley, construct
ed wholly of fat pine, it fell an instant
prey to the fire.
The upper floors were filed with wom-
en-, who realizing their terrible plight
with no possible escape from death,
| added their screams to the already in
describable chaos, and through the glare
| these wretched creatures were seen and
| heard but for a moment before the flames
folded on them and swallowed them up.
This AlcaEar stood for less than half an
hour.
The adjoining building was a grocery
abundantly stocked with coal oil. The
| grocery took fire on the instant and a
barrel of the oil was ignited and an ex-
| plosion followed, and the doom Of the
| place was settled.
The town was built upon north side
hill and extended from the Lake Shore
railroad tracks, southwark up to the sum
init of the range. A street leads up from
the Lake Shore station past the Burton
House, a large hotel, to the shaft Of the
Germania mine, lntersecting this street
at right angles, and running along the
bottom of the slope east and west is the
main street. Near the corner of these
two thoroughfares stood the Alcazar, to
the south and east of which, in q region
about third Of a mile square, lay almost
the entire city.
The wind blew sharply from the ORTIZ
west so that the little city lay exactly in
the pathway Of the flames, as they arose
from the Alcazar building after building
succumbed as the fire marched east and
northwest Sparks and cinders mounted
on the wind and were sent far ahead with
the message of destruction. Every house
was a wood box, and courted the flames.
The fire department, whose chief, warned
by the disaster of last month, had resort
ed to daily training of his forces was
found to be powerless in the general
panic. Men could not be controlled or
made to work.
Nor was this the worst Like all min
ing camps Hurley swarmed with tin-horn
gamblers and roughs long since banished
from more civilized communities to such
as these, Public disaster was private
, feast Far from working to help save the
city, they contributed to the spread of the
, destruction, carrying brands of fire into
! buildings not yet touched, and taking adj
: vantage of the panic TO loot at large.
A | Dozens of these scoundrels were seen In
3 the streets boldly replacing their worn
3 garments with suits of clothes snatched
. from the shelves of burning tailor shops.
; Nothing escaped their hands. They seized
> bottles of liquor from the saloons and
' drank till some of them fell down UNI
conscious in the midst OF the devas tation,
and were burned to death.
Within an hour every thing in Hurley
east Of the street running up the hill was
in ashes, and the people, such as had
themselves escaped the flames, were
either wi dly rushing about the edge of
the ruin or else standing on the brow Of
the hill stupidity staring at the terrible
scene
The Burton House, by great good fort
|, une, was barely saved, though the flames
at one time crossed the street and got un-
der its roof. Many thus found shelter
who must otherwise have spent the night
, in the woods A number of those who
had saved some property from the fire of
two weeks ago were quartered in the dis
trict, and by the second visitation lost all
their poss essions.
Inc nnanaClal loss VIII reaCh nearly
. half a million dollars. Most Of the
: burned buildings were rude, but many Of
, them contained valuable tocks, and some
Of the saloons were extensively fitted
up
. Nearly if not quite a hundred and fifty
! buildings were consumed. Among these
q were the bank of Hurley and the Ameri-
Y can Express Company's office, whose
' safes are visible, upturned in the ruins.
q large church was also burned. All
| ! that remains of the town is the Burton
. Hotel and another smaller hotel, the Lake
Shore depot and two or three new resi-
n dences on the very summit Of the slope
i whose detached position saved them.
@ There is no insurance, az all the com
panies Cancelled their policies immediate,
@ " after the late fire. The Western Union
f office was destroyed, and there was nc
/ communication with this town, forty
e miles away, until yesterday morning
. I The combination Jonea IF tho Lake Ghorf